Toy highway



Nov. 3, 1931. J. E. PEQTTIBONE TOY HIGHWAY Filed March 20, 1950 //v Mam/70E" Je /v55 5. PE 7'7750M5.

Patented Nov. 3, 1931 PATENT OFFICE JAMES E. PETTIBONE, OF UNIVERSITY CITY, MISSOURI TOY RIGHWAY Application filed March 20, 1930. Serial No. 437,385.

My invention relates to aportable toy highway for use in connection with mobile toys, the highway being flexible to conform to undulations in its supporting elements, and comprising a plurality of sections, straight or curved, with means for joining such sections together to provide a highway of the desired length. The sections are preferably ornamented to indicate a roadway of any designated paving and with any desired curbing or border indicia, and interspersed with culvert bridge sections.

Such sections may be grouped and re-ar ranged as desired, being readily assembled and disassembled. Other features of my invention will appear from the drawings and the appended description.

In the drawings-' Fig. l is a plan view of two of the sections employed in my invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of fragments of the meeting ends of two straight sections, and their connecting element.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the sections employed in my invention, simulating an upwardly-curved or humped roadway.

Fig. 4 is a similar view of the section illustrated in Fig. 3, joined to a flat section.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a flat section in use as a roadway for a toy automotive vehicle.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of two upwardly-curved or humped sections assembled together.

In this description, it is necessary to ad-v vert to several of the ornamental and decorative features of my invention in connection with the mechanical features to make clear the educational as well as the entertaining features of the device as a toy highway.

I have illustrated in Fig. l the straight section on a curved section 1-a, whereon are depicted an ornamental border 2 within which are surface indications 3, indicating the character of the highway paving, i. e.,

As a means of joining the sections together, they are provided at their meeting edges with loops 6 arranged to receive the springclamps 7 to temporarily secure the sections together, this means of detachable fastening of two units, 8 and 9, being illustrated in Fig. 2. In Fig. 2, I have illustrated a brick paving indication 10and a gravel paving indication 11 in the sections 8 and 9 respectively; while in section 9, I have provided the rut indications 12.

To form a pleasing variation in the highway, I have provided culvert-bridge base sections 1264, having ornamental bridge rails l313 at their sides, whereon the fiat sections such as 1, 8 and 9 may be laid. In alignment with the bridge rails 13-13, the sections 12a are provided with vertical clips 14t14i, which may be folded over the superimposed fiexible sections to hold the same in place. illustrated in juxtaposition in Fig. 6, their meeting edges being indicated as 18.

By the use of the special highway above described, I have provided means for a road of varying colors, for the reception and operation of mobile toys, operated mechanically or by hand and whose use is intended to instruct children at an impressionable edge with the construction of the modern highway and to impart familiarity with the rules of the road, traflic regulations and the like.

The culvert bridge sections are intended to impart pleasing variations of speed of the mechanical mobile toys, and to demonstrate the effect of gradients on automotive toys.

I have illustrated my preferred form of the sections employed which may be varied atwill, as may the means whereby the sections are temporarily assembled together.

Two of the culvert sections 12a are 7 Such variations maybe effected without departure iroin my actual invention as defined in the appended claim.

I claim- A toy highway comprising a series of surfacing strips of flexible material decorated in simulation of a highway surface; in combination with an elevated supporting member arranged to be removably seated beneath said strips; with means for uniting the meeting ends of said surfacing strips and means for holding said surfacing strips in place upon said supporting member.

JAMES E. PETTIBONE. 

